Hopes are high that a Fort Smith app will not only improve communication with the public, but streamline how the city tackles issues like unsightly properties or potholes.

“It has the ability to help us understand where resources are needed in a community to get things done,” Fort Smith communications manager Tracy Winchell said. “It may very well drive certain policies.”

The application, called myFortSmith, offers the public the ability to identify and communicate to the city issues like potholes, graffiti or water leaks. Photos taken with mobile devices can be sent as part of the reporting process. A list of predetermined reporting categories ensures messages make it to the appropriate departments, according to the city.

“When you think about it, it’s always been a little difficult to know who to call,” Winchell said. “If your house is on fire you know who to call. But if there’s a limb down somewhere, what do I do? Now they know. And they don’t have to wait until 8 a.m. to do it. That’s kind of the approachable concept we really want to tap into.”

The free app is available for iPhones, Android devices and BlackBerry devices. The city’s website, fortsmithar.gov, also has a link to the app interface.

“We’re going to call this the soft rollout that’s underway,” Winchell said. “What we’re trying to do at this point is make sure that our service folks can process everything that’s coming in. We want to make sure we get all the kinks worked out. We’ll get really serious in early June about some billboards and a heavy rotation of social media.”

The Fort Smith Board of Directors was introduced to the app last week by Russell Gibson, director of the city’s Information & Technology Services department.

“I like it,” At-Large Director Kevin Settle said. “A lot of the public today has a smart phone, so this gives them a way of saying, ‘Hey I see an issue,’ take a picture of it and it’s done. In today’s world, that’s probably the best thing we can do for improved communication.”

Other “widgets,” or features, of the app include city news, a calendar of events, an interactive map called myAddress, and links to the city’s social media outlets. More will likely be added over time, Winchell said.

“We threw every widget at it we might use to begin with,” she said. “We’ve backed off a bunch of them so people can kind of get used to it. That’s something we want to be flexible with.”

The city’s app is designed by PublicStuff, a company used by cities nationwide. The company’s website states that in Tallahassee, Fla., 150 street lights have been fixed thanks to the app.

Michelle Bono, Tallahassee communications supervisor, said that in the year since its launch, her city’s app has been downloaded by more than 5,000 users.

“It is one of the neatest, coolest inventions they’ve had in terms of making it really easy for citizens to really be ambassadors for the city,” she said, “and helping keep the community looking the way you want it to look.”

Bono added that the ease in which reports can be filed makes the app attractive, which in turn allows the city to “kind of expand the workforce” with watchful residents.

“When you’re a citizen and you see a problem, whether it’s a pothole or a street light that’s out, it’s just the simplest thing,” she said. “You just push new request, then you pick what kind it is. It finds your GPS location. I take a picture of that graffiti. I don’t have to type in anything; I just hit send.”